Jordan (Web Desk): At least 13 people were injured and about 250 others were injured as a crane loading gas tanks onto a ship in Jordan dropped one of them, sending plumes of toxic yellow smoke into the air.
A video posted by state media showed that a storage tank slipping from a hoist as it was lowered toward the deck of a ship at the port of Aqaba and exploding, engulfing the area in toxic clouds.
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According to authorities, the tank contained chlorine, a poisonous gas that can be pressurized and cooled to change it into a liquid so it can be shipped and stored. Chlorine is widely used in household products such as bleach, for waste sanitation, and in drinking water and pool water to kill harmful bacteria.
Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh arrived at Aqaba and headed to a hospital where some of the injured were being treated, the state media reported.
Al-Khasawneh also formed an investigation team into the incident chaired by the interior minister, state TV cited the information minister as saying.
